The Presto and the Sierra stood by to run lines. Eventually the wind came up so much the men were ordered off the barges and the Sierra made a mercy dash to collect them. This act started at about 0830 and continued overnight until the next morning. After the second request, Harry eventually got permission from the Auckland Harbour Board for assistance with either the William C Daldy or the Te Awhina. The Daldy, skippered by Bob Keyworth, was a welcome site when she turned up and was positioned to the west and a line was run to her. Eventually everything went to plan and the first section sat in place at about mid-day. To conclude this story we have to take our hats off to the stars mentioned above. With the new developments going on down on the waterfront today and to fit in with Waterfront Auckland's development theme of a working waterfront, our fleet of modern and heritage workboats simply has to be part of the seascape, along with Sanfords and the Ports of Auckland fleets. Looking at Thompson's red and black boats and Total Marine's fleet of little green and black tugs, we have one of the tidiest modern fleets one would find in any harbour. And just to make things better, every year on Anniversary Day all the old girls come out to play. Long live the tug and towboat culture of Auckland Harbour.
Thanks to Harry Julian and Jimmy Thompson for details.
FOOTNOTE: While all this was going on, the official boat of the day was the MV Tarawai, skippered by Mr Price and son. This boat was standing off the breakwater, close to where the Royal New Zealand yacht Squadron clubhouse now is. She was carrying 65 passengers, including the chairman of the Auckland
Harbour Bridge Authority, Sir John Allum and Lady Allum. The Tarawhai came into contact with one of the temporary construction mooring blocks and was holed. The passengers were taken aboard another boat and shortly afterwards she partially sank on the breakwater.
The Rakanui formerly known as the Mona's Isle, as she is today
VIP.S72 November/December 2011 Professional Skipper 29
